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I've been playing piano (and working with synthesizers) for 2 years now, which for piano may not seem like much but I've learned quite a bit. I've been composing for around a year just for my own entertainment, and the stuff I've been making I've been told sounds a lot like game music by the people I showed it to. So I thought that's cool, maybe I should try some game composing. I just...don't know if I'm ready yet. I would like to work on someone's project to make their soundtrack, but I don't want to waste their time or my time if I'm just not good enough. What's a good way to get started in my situation?
I have some samples of my music here: http://www.purevolume.com/xetahex
I work well with Reason and my hardware synthesizers, though my worry is I just don't have enough musical experience to do what I want.
Please give me any advice that you can. Thank you.

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Are you ready to write music for video games? Well, I can't say yes or no because I don't know much of your work.

I listened to Drain, and thought some of the ideas were good. Much of your music seems to be pattern or loop based. While this isn't a problem it can create music that is rather repetitive. This style can work well in certain video games, but not very well in others. What I'd tried to do with Drain is look for ways to give the song more variety. You're on the right track, but now you need to go through the sections and see what can be put in, changed or taken out to give the song more depth. This is nitpicking stuff, but it will help give your material a more mature sound and make listening to your works more enjoyable.

I like Sleep quite a bit. Very nice mixture of different patterns and ideas. Again, as with Drain, this piece has one idea and sticks to it. Try and vary things up. Pop in a "B" section that is either:

1) In a different key2) contrasting style3) change of rhythm4) or any mixture of the above

Simple is nice because it has some changes from fast motion to a slower motion, but again it is basically one idea repeated. I'm also noticing much of your music lacks a really definable melody. This can work for some pieces, but you never want your entire catalog to have no "sing-able" melody. I can remember your music, but I'm also a professional musician. The average Joe on the street might have a hard time remembering your theme because it is so active and jumps around quite a bit. The same guy could probably sing or hum the theme to Mario Bros, Sesame Street or the Simpons. Why, because the themes are easily recognizable and easier to understand. To make truly memorable music for any media, it has to be music that is remembered.

I think perhaps the most important characteristic a composer can have (besides talent) is versatility. If you can write in all kinds of musical styles, then you'll be more marketable. You also don't want your music to be predictable all of the time. Some predictability is good; it lets the listener understand the piece. (This is why Serial music never caught on for a long time. People couldn't understand it, so they moved on to something they could.)

I'd vary your style and see what other kinds of music you can create. Also, your sounds are okay but I'd try and upgrade your samples when your budget allows. I recommend East West samples, but they are expensive.

I think you're ready for projects that need this style of music. I think you have plenty of room to grow and learn, but we all do. Music is a life long journey.

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Original post by nsmadsenAre you ready to write music for video games? Well, I can't say yes or no because I don't know much of your work.

I listened to Drain, and thought some of the ideas were good. Much of your music seems to be pattern or loop based. While this isn't a problem it can create music that is rather repetitive. This style can work well in certain video games, but not very well in others. What I'd tried to do with Drain is look for ways to give the song more variety. You're on the right track, but now you need to go through the sections and see what can be put in, changed or taken out to give the song more depth. This is nitpicking stuff, but it will help give your material a more mature sound and make listening to your works more enjoyable.

I like Sleep quite a bit. Very nice mixture of different patterns and ideas. Again, as with Drain, this piece has one idea and sticks to it. Try and vary things up. Pop in a "B" section that is either:

1) In a different key2) contrasting style3) change of rhythm4) or any mixture of the above

Simple is nice because it has some changes from fast motion to a slower motion, but again it is basically one idea repeated. I'm also noticing much of your music lacks a really definable melody. This can work for some pieces, but you never want your entire catalog to have no "sing-able" melody. I can remember your music, but I'm also a professional musician. The average Joe on the street might have a hard time remembering your theme because it is so active and jumps around quite a bit. The same guy could probably sing or hum the theme to Mario Bros, Sesame Street or the Simpons. Why, because the themes are easily recognizable and easier to understand. To make truly memorable music for any media, it has to be music that is remembered.

I think perhaps the most important characteristic a composer can have (besides talent) is versatility. If you can write in all kinds of musical styles, then you'll be more marketable. You also don't want your music to be predictable all of the time. Some predictability is good; it lets the listener understand the piece. (This is why Serial music never caught on for a long time. People couldn't understand it, so they moved on to something they could.)

I'd vary your style and see what other kinds of music you can create. Also, your sounds are okay but I'd try and upgrade your samples when your budget allows. I recommend East West samples, but they are expensive.

I think you're ready for projects that need this style of music. I think you have plenty of room to grow and learn, but we all do. Music is a life long journey.

I hope that helps!

Thanks for the advice. I understand what you're saying about my music needing more variation. One of the struggles I've had is in that area. I can make a good say 30 seconds of music, I can add minor changes though whenever I try to transition to something else I don't like the sound of the transition and usually end up abandoning the song. As for the style, I could probably work on some different styles, though for the stuff on my PureVolume page it's all drawing influence from dance music. (Trance, House, Techno, etc) I think I'd be able to handle if a game designer told me specifically what the feel of the song should be and then I could work with that on the style. Again, thanks! I think I'm gonna put a listing on the Help Wanted forum.

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Original post by nsmadsenAre you ready to write music for video games? Well, I can't say yes or no because I don't know much of your work.

I listened to Drain, and thought some of the ideas were good. Much of your music seems to be pattern or loop based. While this isn't a problem it can create music that is rather repetitive. This style can work well in certain video games, but not very well in others. What I'd tried to do with Drain is look for ways to give the song more variety. You're on the right track, but now you need to go through the sections and see what can be put in, changed or taken out to give the song more depth. This is nitpicking stuff, but it will help give your material a more mature sound and make listening to your works more enjoyable.

I like Sleep quite a bit. Very nice mixture of different patterns and ideas. Again, as with Drain, this piece has one idea and sticks to it. Try and vary things up. Pop in a "B" section that is either:

1) In a different key2) contrasting style3) change of rhythm4) or any mixture of the above

Simple is nice because it has some changes from fast motion to a slower motion, but again it is basically one idea repeated. I'm also noticing much of your music lacks a really definable melody. This can work for some pieces, but you never want your entire catalog to have no "sing-able" melody. I can remember your music, but I'm also a professional musician. The average Joe on the street might have a hard time remembering your theme because it is so active and jumps around quite a bit. The same guy could probably sing or hum the theme to Mario Bros, Sesame Street or the Simpons. Why, because the themes are easily recognizable and easier to understand. To make truly memorable music for any media, it has to be music that is remembered.

I think perhaps the most important characteristic a composer can have (besides talent) is versatility. If you can write in all kinds of musical styles, then you'll be more marketable. You also don't want your music to be predictable all of the time. Some predictability is good; it lets the listener understand the piece. (This is why Serial music never caught on for a long time. People couldn't understand it, so they moved on to something they could.)

I'd vary your style and see what other kinds of music you can create. Also, your sounds are okay but I'd try and upgrade your samples when your budget allows. I recommend East West samples, but they are expensive.

I think you're ready for projects that need this style of music. I think you have plenty of room to grow and learn, but we all do. Music is a life long journey.

I hope that helps!

Thanks for the advice. I understand what you're saying about my music needing more variation. One of the struggles I've had is in that area. I can make a good say 30 seconds of music, I can add minor changes though whenever I try to transition to something else I don't like the sound of the transition and usually end up abandoning the song. As for the style, I could probably work on some different styles, though for the stuff on my PureVolume page it's all drawing influence from dance music. (Trance, House, Techno, etc) I think I'd be able to handle if a game designer told me specifically what the feel of the song should be and then I could work with that on the style. Again, thanks! I think I'm gonna put a listing on the Help Wanted forum.

I had much the same problem when I began writing music. Just don't stress out about it too much, and just do your thing. Keep writing and discover new ways to dress that 30 second piece, over and over and over. It will help you develop your chops in one way.

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Xetahex, I listened to "Drain" and while I have to agree that it was somewhat repetitive, I didn't find that to be a negative point. The riff you used is one of those types that the listener can easily become used to and not feel annoyed by its repetition. Also, there were contrasting sections which ranged from loud and soft, which definitely helped. My first impression was of a modern chiptune, in part due to the pleasant-sounding synths and the monophonic riff. As always, Nathan offers excellent advice. Since I'm not an electronic musician myself and thus can't accurately criticize the piece, it sounds fine to me.

"Sleep" was frankly awesome. It would fit into a video game perfectly and again had that "modern chiptune" feel. Overall, I'd say you're more than ready. However, the real question is whether you'll be able to fit a suitable project. Remember that everyone has different tastes in music, so if you don't manage to secure a spot in a team, it's not necessarily because you suck (and I mean that as a general word of warning, not specifically directed at you, Xetahex). People will decide whether to recruit you upon hearing your work, anyway, so don't worry. It's not as though teams randomly select composers without weighing up their potential first.

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Original post by nsmadsenAre you ready to write music for video games? Well, I can't say yes or no because I don't know much of your work.

I listened to Drain, and thought some of the ideas were good. Much of your music seems to be pattern or loop based. While this isn't a problem it can create music that is rather repetitive. This style can work well in certain video games, but not very well in others. What I'd tried to do with Drain is look for ways to give the song more variety. You're on the right track, but now you need to go through the sections and see what can be put in, changed or taken out to give the song more depth. This is nitpicking stuff, but it will help give your material a more mature sound and make listening to your works more enjoyable.

I like Sleep quite a bit. Very nice mixture of different patterns and ideas. Again, as with Drain, this piece has one idea and sticks to it. Try and vary things up. Pop in a "B" section that is either:

1) In a different key2) contrasting style3) change of rhythm4) or any mixture of the above

Simple is nice because it has some changes from fast motion to a slower motion, but again it is basically one idea repeated. I'm also noticing much of your music lacks a really definable melody. This can work for some pieces, but you never want your entire catalog to have no "sing-able" melody. I can remember your music, but I'm also a professional musician. The average Joe on the street might have a hard time remembering your theme because it is so active and jumps around quite a bit. The same guy could probably sing or hum the theme to Mario Bros, Sesame Street or the Simpons. Why, because the themes are easily recognizable and easier to understand. To make truly memorable music for any media, it has to be music that is remembered.

I think perhaps the most important characteristic a composer can have (besides talent) is versatility. If you can write in all kinds of musical styles, then you'll be more marketable. You also don't want your music to be predictable all of the time. Some predictability is good; it lets the listener understand the piece. (This is why Serial music never caught on for a long time. People couldn't understand it, so they moved on to something they could.)

I'd vary your style and see what other kinds of music you can create. Also, your sounds are okay but I'd try and upgrade your samples when your budget allows. I recommend East West samples, but they are expensive.

I think you're ready for projects that need this style of music. I think you have plenty of room to grow and learn, but we all do. Music is a life long journey.

I hope that helps!

Thanks for the advice. I understand what you're saying about my music needing more variation. One of the struggles I've had is in that area. I can make a good say 30 seconds of music, I can add minor changes though whenever I try to transition to something else I don't like the sound of the transition and usually end up abandoning the song. As for the style, I could probably work on some different styles, though for the stuff on my PureVolume page it's all drawing influence from dance music. (Trance, House, Techno, etc) I think I'd be able to handle if a game designer told me specifically what the feel of the song should be and then I could work with that on the style. Again, thanks! I think I'm gonna put a listing on the Help Wanted forum.

I had much the same problem when I began writing music. Just don't stress out about it too much, and just do your thing. Keep writing and discover new ways to dress that 30 second piece, over and over and over. It will help you develop your chops in one way.

I've been practicing an insane amount lately. I've got two weeks of spring break here and I've been pretty much playing non-stop everyday. Though it's always either I can get past the loop and advance it about 10% of the time or I abandon it. It's a system that's kinda worked though I just wish I had a higher success rate than that.

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Original post by LilyXetahex, I listened to "Drain" and while I have to agree that it was somewhat repetitive, I didn't find that to be a negative point. The riff you used is one of those types that the listener can easily become used to and not feel annoyed by its repetition. Also, there were contrasting sections which ranged from loud and soft, which definitely helped. My first impression was of a modern chiptune, in part due to the pleasant-sounding synths and the monophonic riff. As always, Nathan offers excellent advice. Since I'm not an electronic musician myself and thus can't accurately criticize the piece, it sounds fine to me.

"Sleep" was frankly awesome. It would fit into a video game perfectly and again had that "modern chiptune" feel. Overall, I'd say you're more than ready. However, the real question is whether you'll be able to fit a suitable project. Remember that everyone has different tastes in music, so if you don't manage to secure a spot in a team, it's not necessarily because you suck (and I mean that as a general word of warning, not specifically directed at you, Xetahex). People will decide whether to recruit you upon hearing your work, anyway, so don't worry. It's not as though teams randomly select composers without weighing up their potential first.

Go for it, Xetahex!

(...Oh, and "Simple" makes for great listening also.)

Wow....thanks. :) I do try my best to make my loops last just the right amount of time. Because I have to listen to the thing hundreds of times as I'm composing it, so I'd know when it's too much before anyone else. I take songs like Daft Punk's "Around the World" as an example. Then again, Daft Punk is one of the reasons I wanted to become a musician.

I'm getting a couple opportunities to look at positions right now and I hope I get one. :) Thanks again for all the nice advice.

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I agree with what the others have said. I'm not a professional piano player, but have played for 7-8 years. Some things I recommend:

Drain: pretty repetive. It has a nice motif, but I would recommend some variation in the basic melody (it likes to stay around two tunes a lot). Since this is for a game, it is pretty good. Something based on this with some theme & variation would work quite well.

Sleep: Perfect! I could definitely see this in a game. This would work well (especially the first third) in a cave or dungeon setting (I wouldn't mind listening to it in an RTS either). It definitely has a hint of mystery. My friend over here agrees also. This would also be a good base for future works.

Simple: I don't have much to say. There are some melodies in the middle to end that just end without some sort of, well, ending. There are some melodies in here that could work well as a base for other things good to come.

Oblivion (incomplete): You have something going here. As with all things in progress, it will need work, so some suggestions:

In the beginning, where you have repeated notes on one tune, and then another, you should have another sound/instrument playing a note to hold it together.

You do have a couple of good melodies here (in Oblivion). It should definitly find its place.

Some general suggestions: As with all things, composing takes practice. It might not seem so for some people, but that's cause they've played an instrument for quite a while (improvising is definetely a form of composition). It would also be a good idea to be open to different forms of music, from jazz, to blues, rock, and even Classical and Eastern melodies. They will all find their place.

You have been playing piano for 2 years. This is definetely a good instrument to work with. I too have a synthesizer (in fact it's in the keyboard), though you might have been working with computer synthesizer (I have not; I really should).

And as you have probably been doing, play around with different sounds and instruments. Try different combinations. See what's good for marching, mysteries, and the like.

And the best experience of all: making someone's soundtrack. I say you should definetely go ahead. I haven't (I'm actually more of a programmer; I too have some good tunes in my head) yet entered into any projects. Mabye I'll join a summer freeware project, but I'm a little busy right now. Out of all the ones I listened to, I would say that Sleep was the best.

Well, I have to sign off by now, and my advice may be a little late but: go for it!

Also: have you used any chords? And some good reading would be (if you haven't already) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition. I have read these myself, and I consider them both quite good.

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Original post by RepublicanistI agree with what the others have said. I'm not a professional piano player, but have played for 7-8 years. Some things I recommend:

Drain: pretty repetive. It has a nice motif, but I would recommend some variation in the basic melody (it likes to stay around two tunes a lot). Since this is for a game, it is pretty good. Something based on this with some theme & variation would work quite well.

Sleep: Perfect! I could definitely see this in a game. This would work well (especially the first third) in a cave or dungeon setting (I wouldn't mind listening to it in an RTS either). It definitely has a hint of mystery. My friend over here agrees also. This would also be a good base for future works.

Simple: I don't have much to say. There are some melodies in the middle to end that just end without some sort of, well, ending. There are some melodies in here that could work well as a base for other things good to come.

Oblivion (incomplete): You have something going here. As with all things in progress, it will need work, so some suggestions:

In the beginning, where you have repeated notes on one tune, and then another, you should have another sound/instrument playing a note to hold it together.

You do have a couple of good melodies here (in Oblivion). It should definitly find its place.

Some general suggestions: As with all things, composing takes practice. It might not seem so for some people, but that's cause they've played an instrument for quite a while (improvising is definetely a form of composition). It would also be a good idea to be open to different forms of music, from jazz, to blues, rock, and even Classical and Eastern melodies. They will all find their place.

You have been playing piano for 2 years. This is definetely a good instrument to work with. I too have a synthesizer (in fact it's in the keyboard), though you might have been working with computer synthesizer (I have not; I really should).

And as you have probably been doing, play around with different sounds and instruments. Try different combinations. See what's good for marching, mysteries, and the like.

And the best experience of all: making someone's soundtrack. I say you should definetely go ahead. I haven't (I'm actually more of a programmer; I too have some good tunes in my head) yet entered into any projects. Mabye I'll join a summer freeware project, but I'm a little busy right now. Out of all the ones I listened to, I would say that Sleep was the best.

Well, I have to sign off by now, and my advice may be a little late but: go for it!

Also: have you used any chords? And some good reading would be (if you haven't already) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition. I have read these myself, and I consider them both quite good.

Like I said, I have to go now! Bye!

Thanks for more great advice!

I guess Sleep must be a pretty good track because everyone I've shown it to seems to like it. I guess I'll have to try repeating the method I used to create that one: pre-planning what I was doing. (For every other track I just "let it happen")

I also know Simple isn't my greatest track, but it was the first one I ever composed in like June of last year. The bass track in there in the chorus part is just plain awful in my opinion, and I've been planning on fixing the track since I know how to work the sequencer on that particular synth a bit better.

For Oblivion I already have it finished, and while I like your advice, a lot of it doesn't apply for the style of music I wanted it to be (a sort of Trance/Ambient mix). Thanks for it though. I'm probably going to be changing some things in the track. Likely adding in a synth pad and a subbass.

Drain and Oblivion were made in Reason, Sleep and Simple were made using MO8 sounds.

As for your suggestions on those books. I have the Music Composition book and I don't really find it helpful simply because it's written in a way that I guess I just can't process and actually use the information, because whenever I try to read it I just get frustrated with it. It is a nice book though.

Anyway though, thanks for all the advice.

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The music composition book tends to think you've already read your music theory, just to warn you. If you read one before the other, you should read the music theory book beforehand. And if you have any questions, just ask.

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Original post by RepublicanistThe music composition book tends to think you've already read your music theory, just to warn you. If you read one before the other, you should read the music theory book beforehand. And if you have any questions, just ask.

I know a lot of music theory already. I may not know some of the more advanced topics but I know the basics. The problem I've had is that a lot of what I've looked at in the book is like "Here's what chord progressions sound good" which is nice for reference, but I just was expecting more general information. Like instead of listing a bunch of chord progressions, it would've been more helpful to explain rules about chord progressions or something. I don't like following instructions to learn, I prefer to learn some information and then use that to figure out things on my own.

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In music they are many rules, but they don't all have to all be followed. A chord progression, in essence, requires that one chord progresses to another. The book gives a couple a progressions, yes, and on page 27 (in my book), gives a list of which chords in a key tend to lead to. It also talks about cadences a few pages later, which break some of the rules on page 27. The key to a good chord progression is that it sounds good to the ears. Something like I-IV-V that doesn't go back to I (at the top of my head) just ends and doesn't resolve. Including an ending I (like so many others) resolves the progression.

And advice on advice: me and many others may give you advice, but we all don't know where your headed for each individual piece. So, you will always, like you have, continue to take each piece of advice into account and accept or refuse it based on your vision. Good work.

And a word on "letting it go": no piece in the world has truly made it on this. And on those that seem like it, it takes a large repertoire to be able to make it to this stage. Their is always some sort of planning involved. And let your compositions, as you have been doing, continue to evolve. Good work.

I don't really know any other resources on music composition, but you might be able to find what your looking for on Google or Yahoo.

Well, it is time. I must go.

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One other thing I forgot to mention: "letting it go" allows you to find some good melodies, sounds, moods, etc., so keep experimenting. Planning and writing a score are some really good things to do (your synthesizers allow you to do that, right? I don't really know about many synthesizers... I just have my keyboard and Mozart 7). So a combination of discovered melodies and pre-planned pieces will work very well. I see that you will go far. Keep up the good work!

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Original post by RepublicanistIn music they are many rules, but they don't all have to all be followed. A chord progression, in essence, requires that one chord progresses to another. The book gives a couple a progressions, yes, and on page 27 (in my book), gives a list of which chords in a key tend to lead to. It also talks about cadences a few pages later, which break some of the rules on page 27. The key to a good chord progression is that it sounds good to the ears. Something like I-IV-V that doesn't go back to I (at the top of my head) just ends and doesn't resolve. Including an ending I (like so many others) resolves the progression.

And advice on advice: me and many others may give you advice, but we all don't know where your headed for each individual piece. So, you will always, like you have, continue to take each piece of advice into account and accept or refuse it based on your vision. Good work.

And a word on "letting it go": no piece in the world has truly made it on this. And on those that seem like it, it takes a large repertoire to be able to make it to this stage. Their is always some sort of planning involved. And let your compositions, as you have been doing, continue to evolve. Good work.

I don't really know any other resources on music composition, but you might be able to find what your looking for on Google or Yahoo.

Well, it is time. I must go.

Hmmm...well the book to me just wasn't very useful but maybe I should get the music theory book and try reading that first.

As for your other advice, I kinda disagree with you on music requiring planning. Several of my songs had almost no planning involved. I sat down put out a 4/4 drum beat or something along those lines and went through sound after sound and played with them until I found something I liked, and everything else just kind of happens from there. Essentially on songs like "Simple" and "Oblivion" I'm just making the kind of music that comes naturally to me.

"Drain," "Sleep" and a few others I've written are planned though, I guess they do sound better, but it kind of varies depending on what mood I'm in.

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Original post by RepublicanistOne other thing I forgot to mention: "letting it go" allows you to find some good melodies, sounds, moods, etc., so keep experimenting. Planning and writing a score are some really good things to do (your synthesizers allow you to do that, right? I don't really know about many synthesizers... I just have my keyboard and Mozart 7). So a combination of discovered melodies and pre-planned pieces will work very well. I see that you will go far. Keep up the good work!

Exactly, just letting myself play is how I come up with a lot of great loops (sadly most never get developed into full songs). My MO8 doesn't let me actually write out the notes, I can edit the notes I play though. It has a sequencer and a pattern and song mode. I can create loops and combine them to make songs (this is what I did with "Sleep" and "Simple") or I could just perform the whole song in song mode. There are various features in there I haven't played with yet like some groove effects, a tempo change track and such but I don't really feel most of it's necessary in any of the songs I wrote.

Some songs work better with planning than others. Something like an orchestra or band piece, definitly yes, but a single instrument (or synthesizer) requires less planning. There is still definitly planning involved, put it also depends on the person. Jazz players normally will improvise on the spot, but (almost) always follow some rules (such as play the notes of the G7 chord).

And for compositions: normally (especially for, say, keyboard recordings) they will need some editing before they hit as the final project. And for games, especially on consoles, you will more-likely-than-not have a time limit (and less sound effects). This limit normally doesn't apply to PC games, but songs don't normally average over a few minutes in length (except in dialouges; this can be longer if the dialouge is). Usually (at least in RTS) the background songs tend to be about 30 seconds to a minute apiece (but switch around, battle music for battle, idle for idle, etc.). And it also depends. Empire Earth II has a lot of background clips, while can can count the ones to Age of Empires III with my fingers (I think they are 3 battle songs; I haven't looked through the files in a while). As you might have guessed, the first one I mentioned has shorter clips than the second, but more variety in styles (because they are more songs).

Some songs work better with planning than others. Something like an orchestra or band piece, definitly yes, but a single instrument (or synthesizer) requires less planning. There is still definitly planning involved, put it also depends on the person. Jazz players normally will improvise on the spot, but (almost) always follow some rules (such as play the notes of the G7 chord).

And for compositions: normally (especially for, say, keyboard recordings) they will need some editing before they hit as the final project. And for games, especially on consoles, you will more-likely-than-not have a time limit (and less sound effects). This limit normally doesn't apply to PC games, but songs don't normally average over a few minutes in length (except in dialouges; this can be longer if the dialouge is). Usually (at least in RTS) the background songs tend to be about 30 seconds to a minute apiece (but switch around, battle music for battle, idle for idle, etc.). And it also depends. Empire Earth II has a lot of background clips, while can can count the ones to Age of Empires III with my fingers (I think they are 3 battle songs; I haven't looked through the files in a while). As you might have guessed, the first one I mentioned has shorter clips than the second, but more variety in styles (because they are more songs).

I should stop babbling off and leave it at that. :)

Thanks for more advice. :) As an update, I did manage to find a team that's hired me as a composer. I'm excited to be working on a game, especially an RPG, my favorite genre, especially for the music!